Soups
Lophatherum, Job's Tears and Corn Kernel Soup
Traditionally used to clear heart fire and ease restlessness in fretful children
Why people make this soup
Some little ones are perfectly fine in the daytime but cry through the night, leaving exhausted parents. In food-therapy thinking, infant night crying often falls into two patterns. One is a cold, weak spleen-and-stomach pattern — pale face, cool limbs, a cold tummy, loose stool, clear urine. The other is a “heart-channel heat” pattern — flushed face and red lips, restlessness, dry stool, scant dark urine. This particular soup is for the heat pattern: it is traditionally used to clear heart fire, ease the flow of urine, and settle that restless heat.
Who it suits / who should be cautious
- Children showing the heat-type signs above (flushed, restless). It also suits irritable, easily-angered older children.
- This soup is for the heat pattern, not the cold-spleen pattern. If your baby shows the cold signs (pale, cool, loose stool), a different food therapy is more appropriate. Persistent night crying should be checked by a doctor.
Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)
- Lophatherum / bland bamboo leaf (dan zhu ye): traditionally used to clear heart fire and ease restless heat.
- Job’s tears (yi mi): associated with draining damp and gently promoting urination.
- Corn kernels (su li): mild and sweet; add gentle body and flavor.
Ingredients (about 2 bowls — one child’s daily portion)
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lophatherum (dan zhu ye) | ~11 g (3 qian) | Rinse |
| Job’s tears | ~38 g (1 tael) | Rinse |
| Fresh corn kernels | ~75 g (2 taels) | Or use 1 corn cob |
Method
- Rinse all the ingredients.
- Add 4 bowls of water and simmer about 45 minutes, reducing to roughly 2 bowls.
- Serve. The 2 bowls are a child’s daily portion, split over the day.
Bro Niu’s tips
This soup also helps irritable, easily-angered children of a few years old. Fresh corn kernels (su li) are available at Chinese or Asian grocers; if you can’t find them, just use 1 ear of corn instead.
Community questions answered (selected)
- Q (R): If my baby is sensitive to corn, what can I use instead? He’s eleven months old and wakes two or three times a night. Bro Niu: You can use 6 small bundles of rush pith (deng xin cao) instead — it’s traditionally used to clear heart fire and calm the spirit.
- Q (Aries): Are the 2 bowls for one child? Is that one day’s portion? Bro Niu: Yes — the 2 bowls are for one child, split over a day.
- Q (Joyce): Is this soup for the heart-heat type of night crying? What about the cold spleen-and-stomach type? My child is one and a half, cries out at night and is restless, but has no flushed face, dry stool or dark urine. Bro Niu: For cold spleen-and-stomach night crying, use about 38 g (1 tael) lotus seeds with the plumule, 6 small bundles of rush pith and 6 longan, simmered from 4 bowls of water down to 1 bowl; take for 3–4 days and see if it improves.
Published October 13, 2011 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 2 min read.
